Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Materials

The materials used in this site have had a lot of thought and time put into them. all of the materials work very well together, for example the bottom of the glass windows almost moving seamlessly into the stone floor. although this is one development by one architect all of the buildings have their own identities and different concepts have been used to bring all of the buildings together but still make them individual.

In the centre of the square there is a large piece of grass, it is on a raised bed with a concrete edge. the grass has an undulating shape that balances all the straight lines on the buildings. the grass is at a height that us easy to touch and its nicely cut form makes you want to touch it. Parallel to the grass is a water feature, it is also raised and rectangular and make you want to touch it. these two features have been put into the square so that it isn't just full or concrete, glass and stone, it also makes it more like a traditional square which is what the architect wanted, with trees, water and grass.

The buildings themsleves all have an individual look, which makes this development refreshing different from some of the normal modern office blocks where everything looks the same. one thing that is the same in all the buildings though is that all the floors are at the the same height, meaning that in the future a bridge coulg be built between two buildings to increase the floor plan. building one has a lot of glass and on the outside of the sqaure has a very large wooden or copper frame work over it. There is also a very interesting 'green' wall on the small management building, this acts as a habitat which is rare to find in central London, and i expect it is very popular with small creatures in the area. this 'green' wall as well as the grass, water feature and trees, make this a very green area. the grid or frame work of metal over the front of one of the buildings is quite contrasting to the thick blocks of concrete on the adjacent building, but they balance each other. the thin pieces of metal on the building provides interesting shadows and protection from the glare of the sun and the building with the concrete also provides a more shaded working environment although still flooding the interior with light. the whole square is a very reflective area, with all the glass and shiny surfaces when they are wet. the surrounding older buildings are also reflected in these new materials giving an interesting relationship between the old and the new.

The smooth glass finish on this building, which is built in the traditional sky scraper way, contrast with the more contemporary and 'unfinished' looking building that sits adjacent to it. the end of the frame work building faces the front of the smooth glass building, which is an interesting relationship between materials. the space that these two buildings create between each other is interesting because it has a suspended roof, which means you cannot determine the height of either building if you approach the square from this side, and it is only when you stand in the centre of the square that you become aware of the height. the colours used in the materials, surprisingly blend well into the British sky of greys.